


Rest a while

by Kaijuscientists



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergent, Din Djarin Needs a Hug, Din Djarin Removes the Helmet, Exhaustion, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Episode: s02e01 The Marshal, Seriously someone take care of Din, Touch-Starved, Touch-Starved Din Djarin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29942637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaijuscientists/pseuds/Kaijuscientists
Summary: When Cobb asks the Mandalorian to stay a while after killing the krayt dragon, he didn’t expect him to accept the offer.
Relationships: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth
Comments: 8
Kudos: 117





	Rest a while

**Author's Note:**

> Y’all ready for another post krayt dragon fic where Cobb takes care of Din?

“You plannin’ on heading out?” Cobb asks as he hands over his borrowed helmet. “Or can I convince you to stick around awhile.”

Din thinks, looking down at the speeder, the kid bundled in the side bag, yawns, rubbing at his eyes. It’s been a while since they stayed somewhere that wasn’t the Crest. The prospect of maybe getting to spread out for just a little longer, without anything pressing breathing immediately down his neck, was enticing to say the least.

And now that the adrenaline of the fight was starting to ebb, the aches and pains of fighting the krayt dragon were making themselves known. Along with a distinct tingling of his skin, a sign that the dragon’s bile was starting to seep into his flight suit. That was going to get uncomfortable very soon. 

“At the very least, come back to mine,” Cobb offers, as if he read his mind. “Get cleaned up first.”

Din looks back up, studying Vanth through his visor,

“I think i’ll take you up on the offer.”

“Let’s get going then,” Cobb says, a blinding smile on his face, he hadn’t expected the mandalorian to accept any offers to stay any longer than he already had. 

The ride back to Mos Pelgo is quiet and thankfully uneventful. By the time they get back, both suns have dipped below the horizon, and everyone in the town is celebrating the slaying of the dragon.

The towns people try to get Cobb to join as they park their speeders, but he’s easily able to shrug them off, tells them that he’s exhausted, having been right up in the thick of it, and so was their guest. When he points to the kids, and says it’s past the little ones bed time, they quiet down a little and part ways, allowing them to pass through.

Din has the kid cradled in his arms, still fast asleep, even with the ruckus of the town. Din himself is ready to just sit down. His ankle throbbing with the beat of his heart, and it was getting harder to mask the limp. 

“Come on, my place ain’t far,” Cobb says, gesturing up the road, just past what he recognized as the cantina. “Just a little bit up that way.” 

True to his word, Cobb’s small residence is just a few minutes walk, a simple stone structure situated mostly underground, a stone staircase leading to the door. 

Cobb pushes the door open, flipping on the light, and as Din is taking the last step his leg gives out, his injured ankle refusing to bear his weight. He catches himself with a hiss through clenched teeth, leaning against the wall.

“Whoa, there.” Cobb exclaims, turning at the commotion, quickly coming to steady the man. “You alright?”

Din bites back a groan, trying to put weight on his leg again, the pain in his ankle cresting before dying down to a bearable level again. 

“I’m fine.” He says, pushing himself up from the wall, having to obviously limp. Din sighs when the bundle in his arm starts to fuss, he can tell that if he can’t get the kid settled in the next few minutes he’ll be up for hours. 

“You don’t seem fine.” 

“I’m am.” Din repeats. He’s had worse, he’ll be fine. He starts to gently rock the child in his arms, the whining and fussing calming. “Do you have a place he can sleep?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Cobb says, pursing his lips and deciding to not push the subject right now, motioning for him to follow. Din follows him into what seems to be a living area. 

“Don’t have any spare rooms, but.” Cobb says, pausing to dig in a corner for a moment, eventually pulling out a basket. “Here we go, little guy can sleep in here.” 

He sets it on his threadbare couch, pulling the blanket off the back of it and layering it in the basket. 

“Shh, shh.” Din shushes, softly placing the kid into the basket, nestling him into the blanket. He calms as soon as he’s surrounded by the soft blanket, grabbing handfuls in his tiny clawed hands and snuggling in. 

Cobb stands back and watches the scene unfold, he’d even go so far as to say it was adorable. An intimidating Mandalorian, putting a baby down to sleep. He could probably tell everyone he knows this story and no one would ever believe him. 

“You do a great job takin’ care of him” Cobb says, keeping his voice low. 

“I have to,” Din says, placing a gloved palm on the kids head. “I don’t have much choice.” 

Cobb nods, knowing what it’s like to be put in that kind of a situation.

When Din is sure that the kid’s asleep, and that he’ll stay asleep, he backs away slowly, only for his leg to give out for the second time that night. 

If Cobb had not been right there, he would have fallen to the ground, probably woken up the kid. 

“Hey, hey, I got ya.” Cobb says, lunging forward to catch the man, before he hits the ground.

“I’m fine.” Din says, then he sags in Vanth’s arms. “Mostly fine.”

Cobb helps him up right, ducking under his arm to help support his weight. When he wraps an arm around the Mando’s waist, he leans into him much to his surprise. He had expected him to pull away, shrug off the assistance. 

“The days caught up with me.” Din says, silently thankful for Vanth’s help. “Maybe a few days.” He amends. 

“It has definitely been eventful,” Cobb says, maneuvering Mando though his home. “But I get the feeling most of your days are.” 

Mando just grunts, focusing on putting one boot in front of the other without falling over again. It just seems like everything has crashed into him from the past few months. He’s reminded that he’s not as young as he used to be. 

He guides Din into his own bedroom, lowering into a chair that sits in the corner. 

“Let’s get you a little more comfortable, yeah?” Cobb says, taking in the man’s armor, almost sticky with bile. ‘I know the helmet stays on, but what about the rest of it?

Din thinks, he would normally never take it off in the presence of a stranger, in a place he didn’t know, in a place that wasn’t the _crest_. 

Leaving himself vulnerable went against anything he was ever taught. Leaving himself unable to protect the child if he needed too.

But was Vanth really a stranger? He was ready to leave the kid in his care, had his plan with the dragon not worked out. And Mos Pelgo was most likely the safest it’s ever been for the night. 

It might be nice, to just rest for a while… no worries, no ship, no surprises.

“Mando?” Cobb says, his voice filtering though his mind. “You with me?”

“Yes, I’m…” Din starts, he’d zoned out while thinking apparently. Cobb trying to get his attention again. “I’m usually not like this.” He furrows his brows, taking a deep breath. He’s flagging, the last dregs of adrenaline fading fast. 

“Don’t worry about it.” Cobb says, kneeling down in front of him. When the man reaches for his legs, he jumps.

“Vanth.” Din says, trying to keep the edge out of his voice. 

“I think you can call me Cobb, wouldn’t you say?,” he says, holding up his hands. “Now, let’s get you outta this armor.”

“I can handle it.” Din says, starting the process of taking off his armor, starting with his vambraces. He’s fumbling with the latches when Cobb, still kneeling in front of him reaches towards his leg again . 

“It’s alright darlin’” Cobb says softly, as if to not frighten a scared animal, not yet touching the mandalorian. “I’m just gonna help you, that alright?”

Din looks down at Cobb, who manages to make eye contact with him even through the visor, and nods.

Together they get Din’s armor in a pile on the floor. Cobb even helps him remove his boots, being extra careful of his injured ankle, gently prodding and rotating the joint. “Feels like it’s just a sprain.”

Din just nods, speechless at the feeling of cobbs fingers on his bare skin, leaving a tingling path in their wake. 

“Wait here a sec.” Cobb says, as he goes to dig through his dresser drawers, coming back a few minutes later with a small bundle of clothes in his hands. “Here, hopefully these fit, but the ‘fresher is just down the hall. You look like you could use it, i’m sure that dragon spit ain’t comfortable.”

“It’s not.” Din agrees, taking the offered clothing. 

“Got a unit in there that’ll clean your clothes too.” Cobb says. “Go on, get, I’ll start working on the armor.”

Din leaves the room, finding the ‘fresher at the end of the hall. He locked the door behind him, leaning back on it. His heart does a weird flip in his chest at the mere thought of Cobb cleaning his armor for him.

Din spends a lot longer in the refresher than he means too. Peeling himself out of his flight suit borders on painful, the fabric sticking to him, stiff and uncomfortable. His skin red and irritated from the bile that seeped into his clothing. When he’s scrubbed himself clean of any residue he dresses in Cobb’s borrowed clothes, a dark pair of pants and light colored shirt. He puts his clothes in the wash unit and spends a while cleaning the grime from his helmet before putting it back on and going to check on the kid.

When he wanders back to the bedroom, he stops in his tracks in the doorway. Cobb is sitting cross legged on the floor, his armor spread out all around him, shining and bright. The silver haired man holds his pauldron up, inspecting the mud horn emblem with a critical eye. 

Din can’t stop the feeling in his chest from overwhelming him now, watching this man who, against his wishes, wormed his way past his defenses in the few days he’s known him, care of his things, as if they were his own. 

When Cobb looks up from his work, he meets Din with another blinding smile, and Din is nearly knocked backwards. 

“Feeling better?”

“Yes, a little.” Din says, the sonic pulses of the refresher had helped soothe his aches a little bit, but he was still sore, ankle still throbbed.

“Well, I’m just about done here,” Cobb says, taking in the tired slope of Mando’s shoulders. Cobb stands up with a grunt, his back popping from sitting hunched over on the ground. 

Din wonders over, and gets a closer look, honestly impressed with how clean Cobb had managed to get the armor given that the bile was crusted on. 

“What do ya think?”

“It’s good.” Din says, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. 

Cobb smiles, bright and blinding, and Din’s heart speeds up again.

“You go ahead and make yourself comfortable,” Cobb says. “I’m gonna get myself cleaned up.” He makes his way out of the bedroom, leaving Din standing there surrounded by his armor. 

“Hey,” Cobb says, his head popping back in the doorway, hair falling over his eyes. “Put that foot up, it’ll help.” 

Din nods, standing carefully after inspecting his armor. 

Din, pointedly avoiding the living area, in fear of waking the child accidentally, goes to sit in Cobbs small kitchen instead. He doesn’t want to take Cobb’s bedroom, having overstepped enough by just agreeing to come back here. 

He absolutely wiped, and the pull of a horizontal surface is strong but he’s experienced worse, he allows himself a small reprieve, putting his head down on the table.

Din’s not sure how long he passed, having dozed off at the table. But he wakes with a jolt to warm hands on his shoulders. 

“This ain’t the bedroom, sweetheart.” Cobb says.

The endearment floats through his exhausted brain, and when it slots into place he feels his cheeks heat up. He’s thankful he’s wearing a helmet. 

“I can take the couch, it’s fine.” Din says, Cobb’s touch burning though the thin fabric of his shirt. When he feels Cobb’s thumbs start to rub, he can barely suppress a shiver.

“Nope, you saved the town, I can’t let you sleep on that old thing.” Cobb says, digging his thumbs right in besides Din’s shoulder blades, right into a knot of tension and Din is helpless to suppress a groan. 

“When was the last time someone took care of you, mando?” Rubbing Dins shoulders, working out the tension. Cobb brushes his thumbs over his neck, letting them slip just under his helmet, smirking at the shiver it elicits from the mandalorian. “You’ve got knots on knots.” 

“It’s been… been a while.” Din groans, pushing back into Cobb’s touch. How long had it been since he’d felt the touch of another, skin to skin, with nothing between? Much longer than it bore thinking about. 

Din gasps when Cobb leans down close, sliding his hands smooth over the planes of his back and whispers, “How ‘bout we take this to the bedroom, i’ll take care of you proper.” 

A shiver runs down Din’s spine, and he nods, not trusting his voice. 

Cobb takes him by the hand and leads him back to the bedroom with a bed just big enough to fit two grown men in. 

“You can take the shirt off, if you want, but go ahead and lay on your belly.”

If asked, Din would not be able to put into words why he trusts Cobb, but he does, so he takes his shirt off and crawls onto the bed to lay on his belly as asked. It’s the most bare he’s been in front of another person in years. 

Din sinks into the bed, his body thrilled to be horizontal. He tenses for a moment when Cobb crawls on top of him, straddling his legs. But as soon as Cobb puts his hands on him, rubbing and massaging, he’s quick to relax into the attention. 

Din’s gone boneless when Cobb leans over him, using the leverage to press against his spine that has it popping and Din sighing in relief.

Until he feels Cobb against his ass, a hard line, and he has a good idea as to what direction this is going to end up going. He pushes back, grinding back into Cobb. 

Cobb freezes, Din feels every inch of him tense up along his own body, and he thinks that maybe it was the wrong thing to do. 

Cobb lets out a breath he was holding, Din hears it right in his ear. 

“Not that I wouldn’t like that, Mando, but this is about you. We don’t have to do anything.” 

“Really?” Din says, relief flooding through him. 

“Do I look like that kinda man? Inviting the stranger who saved the town to spend the night for some TLC and then taking advantage of him?” 

That warm feeling floods through Din again, and against all of his better judgment, he has to admit he’s becoming besotted with this man. 

“Din.” he says quietly. “My name is Din.” 

“Din.” Cobb repeats, and Din can hear the smile in his voice, wishes he could turn around and see it, see what he looks like saying his name, but he feels like that might be too much for him to handle. “I like it, suits you.” 

Din decides he likes the way his name sounds on Cobb’s tongue. 

“G’night Din” Cobb pats his shoulder, throwing his leg back over Din and getting off the bed. 

“You’re leaving?” Din asks, pushing up from the bed to turn around, “You don’t have to, I don’t want to put you out.” 

“You’re sure?” Cobb asks.

“We can both fit.” 

Cobb looks like he has his doubts, but Din is used to sleeping in a narrow ship bunk, so to him there is plenty of room here. 

“Suit yourself, i’m not gonna complain.” Cobb is quick to agree, not eager to spend the night on the couch either. He goes to turn the lights off, closing the door to throw the room into darkness. Din watches him navigate through the dark room through his visor. 

Din rights himself on the bed, moving under the thin blanket, Cobb crawling in next to him. 

Din lays on his side, and Cobb rolls onto his side too, facing Din. It’s quiet for a while. Cobb has his eyes closed, but he can tell that Din wasn’t asleep yet either. 

“So you sleep in it too, huh?” Cobb asks, keeping his voice low. 

“If I have to.” Din says, “These days, I have to more often than not.” It’s not comfortable, if he’s honest with himself, but it’s what he has to do. 

This is the way.

“It’s pretty dark in here right now.” Cobb says, hoping he wasn’t about to mess anything up with his next suggestion. “I can’t see a damn thing, you could take it off.”

Normally, Din would never consider it, would never stoop so low as to find a loophole in his creed and exploit it. One exploited frequently by younger mandalorians. But here, in the darkness of Cobb’s bedroom, he finds himself considering it. 

“Perhaps.” Din heart races at the prospect of taking his helmet off in front of a person. He hasn’t even taken it off in front of the kid. “You can’t see?”

“It’s pitch dark in here, no windows, were completely underground.” 

Din sits up and places his hands on his helmet. He takes a deep breath and holds it, willing his hands not to tremble.

“You don’t have to, Din.” Cobb says quietly, “It was just an idea, forget I ever mentioned it.” 

“No, no…I, I would like to.” He says out loud, even more shocked that he actually means it. He lifts the beskar helmet, the air of the room feeling shocking on his skin. He inhales cool air into his lungs and it feels like it’s the first full breath he’s taken in months. 

A sharp inhale reaches his ears when Cobb realized that he’d just taken his helmet off. 

Din lays back down, nearly moaning at the feel of the soft pillow on his cheek. The sound is almost foreign to his ears without the modulator of his helmet. The darkness in the room soothes his remaining nerves, confident with the knowledge that he won’t be seen. 

“Comfy?” Cobb asks

“Yes, thank you.” Din sighs, closing his eyes, enjoying being armor free for once. Trying to not be too concerned over how comfortable he felt in Cobb's presence. 

“Din?”

Din hums.

“You tell me if i’m crossing a line here.” Cobb reaches out a hand slowly, not knowing exactly where Din is, until he makes contact with his arm, trailing the tips of his fingers up and down his bicep.

Cobb is spurred on, when Din doesn’t immediately tell him to stop, eventually trailing his touches up to his shoulder and sliding up the side of his neck. He feels Din tilt his head at the press of a warm palm there, and hears sharp gasp when his thumb strokes the sensitive skin behind his ear. 

“Alright?” Cobb asks, stilling his movement, prepared to pull back the moment Din says the word. 

Din nods, knowing Cobb would be able to feel it, moving his head to press his cheek into Cobb's hand. 

When Cobb's hand slips into his hair, Din chokes back a whimper, and he stops again. 

“Don’t stop.” Din whispers, his voice trembling slightly. 

Cobb moves that hand around his head, “Come over here.” He says, tugging gently. 

Din knows he shouldn’t, this is already too much, but he’s had a taste, a touch, and he wants more. He moves towards Cobb, the man rolling to lay on his back, lifting his arm to tuck Din under it. 

Din‘s head comes to rest on Cobb’s chest, tentatively laying his arm over Cobb‘s stomach. He sinks into the other man, resting his weight along his body. Feeling lthe warmth of him, paired with Cobb’s hand running up and down his back, feels better than good. 

A shuddering sigh releases the remaining tension in his body. 

“Why are you doing this?” Din asks, genuinely curious. Most people who showed interest with him either wanted to see what he looked like underneath the helmet or just wanted a quick lay to say they’d fucked a Mandalorian. 

Cobb obviously did fall into either category. 

“I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t like you.” Cobb says, moving his head so his cheek rested on the top of his head. “‘Cause I really do, but it just seems like you haven’t had a soft place to land for a while, and everyone needs that sometimes. Even big bad mandalorian bounty hunters.”

Din knows he should speak, at least try to put what he’s feeling into words, but when Cobb’s hand starts to card through his hair again, all hope of forming even a coherent thought is lost. The most he can manage is a hum, as the exhaustion of the days, months, finally overtakes him, his eyes drooping and leaning even heavier into Cobb’s side. 

“Go to sleep, sweetheart.” Cobb whispers, pressing the lightest kiss into Din’s hair.


End file.
